I was beginning to wonder if the hot, relentlessly humid Nebraskan summer was ever going to come to an end. I've been anticipating the start of Fall for primarily one reason and that is Culinary School. I've spent about 8 months preparing for the move to Omaha from Sioux Falls...a slightly daunting task for a barely 20 year old. Although I find complete independence to certainly be a challenge, but riveting all the same-especially when striving toward one of my greatest passions (FOOD).
The past month and a half was probably the most difficult because I finally made it here, but without the company of friends, it has been difficult to enjoy. I began working 60+ hours a week only because I personally found the blaring alarms of a telemetry monitor in a hospital to be more comforting than staring at my blank apartment walls.
I started to grow very anxious about my first day of school. I would talk (or attempt to talk) to my coworkers about school, about cooking- it was obvious how much I love it. However, talking to a medical professional about my passion for cooking was quite similar in talking to my blank apartment walls. The only difference was they were able to provide me with a verbal response...a subtle nod of the head, slight sympathetic smile, accompanied with an "Oh, ...well, that's nice." All of these instances made me grow even more impatient for September 7th to arrive.
Well, as you have probably gathered, that first day has cam to pass and I sit here 2 days and an entire flat of eggs later with excitement still coursing through me.
I found myself surrounded by passionate, eager-to-learn, like-minded individuals...and our leader? Nothing short of spectacular (I apologize Chef, but I did have to find the opportunity to suck up just a little). But honestly, any doubts that I ever had of choosing Metro's Institute for the Culinary Arts for my Culinary Education had vanished half-way through Chef O'Donnell's lecture. Throughly impressed is truly an understatement.
Our first lab in the kitchen was eggs--
Scrambled,sunny-side up, over0easy, poached, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, omelets.
All this time, I never imagined I'd been cooking scrambled eggs incorrectly my entire life. No wonder I never cared for them! My mother used to make them for me as a kid....dried up, browning , crispy, squirrly yellow curds accompanied with a big ol' bottle of ketchup. Thankfully I've now passed on Chef O'Donnell's simple brilliance and my mother now makes delicious, moist, creamy, melt-in-your mouth scrambled eggs as well.
[Hey Mom, I apologize for using you as an example. I would still contest that you're one of the finest, most creative, innovative cooks out there ;-) ]
Besides the scrambled eggs, we spent the time flipping eggs(over-easy) without a spatula-goal end result being egg still in pan, yolk in tact, and not overcooked. Surprisingly, considering my lack of gracefulness, my egg did not end up on the floor, however did end up a broken, over cooked disaster.
We later proceeded with the french omelet. We were to cook it, plate it, and present it to Chef to taste. My mind completely skipped the whole "making it looked presentable" process and I slapped it on a plate that was already somewhat covered in chunks of stuck-together cheese, sprinkled some leftover sauteed remains of what was inside, and rushed it to Chef. This resulted in him asking the question, "Now, do you think you would really serve this to a customer? What would you think if this plate were brought out to you?"
And so, with my imaginary tail between my legs, I headed back to my station and attempted again, only to fail miserably...and run out of class time. After arriving home, I became determined to execute everything proficiently...and as I said, a flat of eggs later, here is one of my better results(but still far from perfection):
The past month and a half was probably the most difficult because I finally made it here, but without the company of friends, it has been difficult to enjoy. I began working 60+ hours a week only because I personally found the blaring alarms of a telemetry monitor in a hospital to be more comforting than staring at my blank apartment walls.
I started to grow very anxious about my first day of school. I would talk (or attempt to talk) to my coworkers about school, about cooking- it was obvious how much I love it. However, talking to a medical professional about my passion for cooking was quite similar in talking to my blank apartment walls. The only difference was they were able to provide me with a verbal response...a subtle nod of the head, slight sympathetic smile, accompanied with an "Oh, ...well, that's nice." All of these instances made me grow even more impatient for September 7th to arrive.
Well, as you have probably gathered, that first day has cam to pass and I sit here 2 days and an entire flat of eggs later with excitement still coursing through me.
I found myself surrounded by passionate, eager-to-learn, like-minded individuals...and our leader? Nothing short of spectacular (I apologize Chef, but I did have to find the opportunity to suck up just a little). But honestly, any doubts that I ever had of choosing Metro's Institute for the Culinary Arts for my Culinary Education had vanished half-way through Chef O'Donnell's lecture. Throughly impressed is truly an understatement.
Our first lab in the kitchen was eggs--
Scrambled,sunny-side up, over0easy, poached, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, omelets.
All this time, I never imagined I'd been cooking scrambled eggs incorrectly my entire life. No wonder I never cared for them! My mother used to make them for me as a kid....dried up, browning , crispy, squirrly yellow curds accompanied with a big ol' bottle of ketchup. Thankfully I've now passed on Chef O'Donnell's simple brilliance and my mother now makes delicious, moist, creamy, melt-in-your mouth scrambled eggs as well.
[Hey Mom, I apologize for using you as an example. I would still contest that you're one of the finest, most creative, innovative cooks out there ;-) ]
Besides the scrambled eggs, we spent the time flipping eggs(over-easy) without a spatula-goal end result being egg still in pan, yolk in tact, and not overcooked. Surprisingly, considering my lack of gracefulness, my egg did not end up on the floor, however did end up a broken, over cooked disaster.
We later proceeded with the french omelet. We were to cook it, plate it, and present it to Chef to taste. My mind completely skipped the whole "making it looked presentable" process and I slapped it on a plate that was already somewhat covered in chunks of stuck-together cheese, sprinkled some leftover sauteed remains of what was inside, and rushed it to Chef. This resulted in him asking the question, "Now, do you think you would really serve this to a customer? What would you think if this plate were brought out to you?"
And so, with my imaginary tail between my legs, I headed back to my station and attempted again, only to fail miserably...and run out of class time. After arriving home, I became determined to execute everything proficiently...and as I said, a flat of eggs later, here is one of my better results(but still far from perfection):
.......ok, well after much technical wrestling, I'm going to give up. Bloggr is adamant on posting the pictures BEFORE the actual blog...so, sorry to ruin all the suprise. It's a spinach,ham,and mozzerrella omelet...it's not perfect, but it was the best result I had before collapsing into my bed. Better luck next time I hope.
First of all, this masterpiece, if you will, looks incredible.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, I haven't eaten yet today so it looks especially incredible.
I think you've really found your place in Omaha, Jess.
More importantly, I think you've found your place in you.
I don't want this to sound too "cheesy" (haha--because you made an omelet), but I thought I'd end my comment with a quote that's been on my mind a lot lately.
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."- Lou Holtz
Oh Sammy B!
ReplyDeleteI miss you! Thank you SO much for your nice compliment. And I too love that quote. And I also agree that I think I've found my place. I have a lot of learning to do and I'm ready for it.
I haven't had time to sign up for an audition time for the Nebraska Wind Symphony, but I may see if things slow down a little between work and school if I can get one in. I hope you're enjoying Concordia, and make sure to give me a list of your concerts!
your food looks awesome! good post. i enjoyed hearing your story. see you tomorrow when we master steaks (?).
ReplyDeleteJessica, pee your pad!!
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read and I'm so excited for you that you enjoy school so much! That is really great and it's awesome to hear you've found your niche in a way. Hope I can see you soon, so I can eat some of your tasty food!!